Monterey all day!

Today we kind of went back on ourselves as we really wanted to do the '17mile drive' yesterday but as we (happily) took so long to cover the Big Sur, we cut past it. pushed on to Monterey centre (its all in the Monterey peninsula anyway) and saved it for today.

It worked well as we also wanted to give ourselves a bit of an 'easy day'. This is our holiday after all....

After our breakfast where Dan got to play with a waffle maker thing, we got ourselves together and set off. We're still without Sat Nav btw and loving it too!  This is a path well trodden well before we even knew what GPS was so why the hell do we need it?!

We took a longer route round to the drive so that we could check out the route to Cannery Row from our hotel so that we could go there tonight and drove through some more amazing views that are quite literally on people's doorsteps. How could you NOT want to get out of bed early every day..?

The drive was just wonderful.. It's a private kind of enclosed area that has private residences as well as hotels, shops etc and a golf course. The views are breathtaking and the houses friggin massive!!

Dan actually attempted to drive the car as well whilst on this route. He did a whole 2 miles!!  haha.. he was in his flip flops so not the best footwear for him to try driving on the opposite side for the first time ever!  Note.. I was driving in mine..... ;-)     Only teasing you Dan.......

Once we had completed the drive, we headed to the beach at Carmel and stayed on there for a while. I think it was when i was sat there, looking at this gorgeous white crescent shaped sandy beach and hearing the pacific crashing over and over again right by us, that I finally realised that we were really actually here!!  This trip that we have planned and researched and bored everyone to tears about for 10months+ (at least) was underway!!  Sounds daft but everything has just been so busy and mindblowing so far that this was probably the first time I have really sat back and taken it all in!

Dan finally got to go properly in the sea which was funny to watch as the waves were really fighting to push him back out!  He was as happy as anything when he made his way back bless him.   Apparently it was perishing but reviving!

Headed into Carmel properly then for a bit of a nosey (very lovely little town but not really our type of place) and some lunch. Which was lovely...  Oh and the table sat behind me was like lunching next to the 'real housewives of Carmel' or something like that!  Ha the things they were gossiping about was very funny.   I do remember one of them confessing that she has botox and fillers but did note that the response was not one of surprise!!  ha oh and one of their friends  - you know the one that is an air hostess - was 'now' Bi but only chose/got to  be with women when she was on a lay-over (no pun intended) as she was trying to keep it secret...! 

Lunch was delicious and then we set off back to Monterey.. kind of got a bit lost round the streets of Carmel first but managed it in the end!

Quick dip in the pool and then it was showered, dressed and out to go and see Cannery Row. Its about 1.5miles from our hotel  - Monterey has two sort of key places, Fisherman's Wharf and Cannery Row. We're nearer to F.W.   Cannery Row is names as such as it is where they used to can all the fish!

Its quite a quirky little place, very touristy though. The Monterey Aquarium is there which is supposed to be excellent but we literally just ran out of time to go to it.

Couple of beers and a snack to eat and then we headed back towards our hotel.. with some stops on the way. Another early night though tonight for us.  Got 4 nights in San Franscisco to be fighting fit for!!  

Super excited for SF.....  SUPER excited!

**finally sorted the right app out for me to be able to upload pics on here.. its taking ages to sync everything but there'll be some on here soon.....

Big Sur

(Tues 8 Sept)

yep... Big Sur was absolutely wonderful.. such amazing views.

Its a proper windy road cut into the side of the mountain and you are just constantly presented with the most amazing sights round each bend.

Rocky coves, golden sands, sheer cliff faces and a raging, crashing sea underneath.. a field of zebras..!
that is the absolute truth. We saw a field of zebras  (picture evidence to follow!) We're slightly bemused by it and have no understanding of why there were zebras there. Amongst some cows I might add!!

We also saw a whole beach of elephant seals!  They were fabulous to watch and more than one of them reminded me of Dan and the way he can just lie there... every now and again he'll roll a bit and occasionally will emit a strange noise or have a little scratch!!  hahahahahaha!!

We really took our time over the drive and took a good 5 hours to do the route as we stopped off constantly for pictures or a wander.
We have a ridiculous amount of pictures between us so I'll get them reviewed and get some on here pronto.

I also managed to lose a pair of my Havaianas in the ocean!  Stopped at Carmel beach and we went to dip our toes in. I hugely under-estimated the power of the ocean and the speed with which it came towards me and it ripped off my flip flops as it rolled back!!  They floated around me for a brief minute but there was no point in trying to get them as I would have probably fell over and then lost the car keys and my phone!  That'll teach me hey!!

Made it to Monterey very easily and have booked into another motel (Stevenson Monterey) for the next 2 nights, It seems to be in a good location and it is everything we need & want. V clean, lovely woman on reception and it even has a small pool!  Dan was in that pool within minutes of arriving!!

Off out shortly to see the Wharf and to get me some seafood!  I need a proper good and tasty dinner tonight and as I love seafood so much, what else would I eat when on the Pacific coast?!

*update - i got my seafood - yum yummy yum yum!  We had a nice stroll downtown and stopped off at a couple of places for a beer.  I personally preferred the 2nd one and had a couple of really nice drinks in there (Alvarado St Brewery and Grill). Hotel had recommended a restaurant for us so we just simply headed there. And we were glad we did. I had a delicious bowl of Seafood Cioppino and Dan had a seafood and pasta dish.  I was SO happy with my meal :-)
Ended the night with one last beer at another place Dan had found and then headed back as we were both feeling really tired. Its been a very busy few days plus i have managed to come down with a cold so we decided an early-ish night wouldn't do us any harm...

Scorchio!

One thing i've not really mentioned is the weather whilst we're here.
Well, as the title suggestes it is scorchio.. like super scorchio!  Just before 9am here it was 72 degrees and it is creeping up. Going to be in the mid 90's today...
Chatting with various people last night in SLO and they all said that the heat is completely unexpected, way hotter than it usually is this time of year. I was kind of relieved to hear that as I was questioning my packing as I had chosen stuff on the basis of what I had read about the standard weather.
There are a few weather warnings it is that hot and sadly, since actually getting my case and access to my running shoes, I've not been able to get out as the heat is just too much....but we are doing lots of walking so I am getting some exercise though walking is hard going at times in this heat!

Anyway, we had a great night in SLO. We got chatting to so many people as everyone was really intrigued as to why we were in SLO (once they had heard our accents this is).
Dan is the funniest though he seems to get chatting to people in the most random way. Last night I came out of the 7/11 to find him further down the parking lot (yes I am getting fluent in American!) chatting away to some bloke!

So today it is one of the key sections on the West Coast leg of our road trip.. the Big Sur.  It's going to be spectacular I am sure.
After much discussion and debate we have agreed that we will spend the next two nights in Monterey.  We want to see Carmel and we had considered one night in Carmel and the other in Monterey but they are next door to each other so it is pretty pointless doing that..

which reminds me, I need to start checking out some hotels........

Moving on....

so today (7th Sept) we have left Santa Barbara behind and headed on up the coast to get further into our adventure!
As the hire car company provided sat nav has now decided to break (and the local office was closed for Labor Day) we decided to go old school and actually use maps, guide books and the road signs to get to where we wanted!  I was really quite happy that we were doing it 'properly'!

End destination for the day is San Luis Opisbo. Dan's been really keen to go here.

We headed for Solvang first which is a Danish town right on the edge of the wine regions..
We passed through some kind of strange little places on the way and it felt like a total world away from modern and trendy Santa Barbara...
I mean, I don't really expect to see massive signs telling me that Buellton is the home of split pea soup but not far from that there was one offering pigs for sale.  Is that just me?
(Oh and later on from Solvang we found 'Ostrich Land'!!)
 ... I digress again so Solvang, Danish town....
Yes, I did say Danish. It's kind of bizarre but when you know why it sort of makes sense and of course it is a real tourist destination now.  Ultimately it was the plan of some Danish immigrants back in the day, to get land purchased and create a new town for other Danish immigrants including businesses, homes, schools etc.
We didn't really stay long - though we managed to find time to visit the Christmas shop, where its Christmas all year round!  It was just random really but we bought a nice little bit of tat for the boy ;-)

Moving on from there we went to a delightful little town called Los Olivos. Literally just a crossroads with stores, a cafe (we had a fabulous lunch in there) and lots and lots of the local vineyards wine tasting places!  As I was driving I couldn't get stuck in and as Dan's first love is beer and he managed to find a beer tasting place, we headed in there.

From there we set off to San Luis Opisbo using just our wits and the guide book and hoped to find ourselves a decent hotel in the right area for where Dan wanted to see.
Which we did which is why I am able to write this updated!!
Its a cracking little motel.. like a proper motel where you drive up and park outside the room. Lovely big room, great location and a bloody amazing shower!!

So.. time to head out and explore SLO.....!

6th Sept continued....

... where was I?!   oh yeah, lovely Mexican restaurant that were very kind in squeezing us in and giving us a nice table outside. There was live guitar music too and I loved watching the guitarist totally lose himself in his music.

We did sit next to a particularly dysfunctional family where Mom and Dad were clearly trying TOO hard to be entertaining, the 'Mother in Law' looked like she was forcing herself to smile and the kids...oh the kids were shocking. The teenage daughter only took out her earphones to pick at her main meal and never made eye contact or spoke with anyone and just concentrated on playing games / texting on  her phone

The son, who looked like he was probably late teens/early twenties, also refused to engage and when his dad dared to bring him into the conversation he glared at him, rolled his eyes and sneered some response!!  

I was fascinated!

I said to Dan that those kids would get a serious arse kicking if they were with me.. especially the girl!!

After that we headed further into town for a few drinks at a couple of places Dan had noted and got ourselves a little bit drunk!

Great day and night.....

6th Sept - Whalewatching and friends (both old and new)

Last night I think I saw off the last of the  jet lag as I managed a bit more sleep but was still awake by 5am but at least I felt good. Though the excitement of our whale watching trip might have been what kept me going!

We arrived nice and early for the trip which was a good job as people were VERY eager to get themselves on this boat and bag the best spot!  We didn't half get pushed and shoved around when giving in the tickets and heading for the boat. 

Anyway, we got on the upper deck still and were able to grab a full bench for ourselves. Happily set up for the day we saw a family get up on our deck with their elderly father and mother who were both struggling a bit with mobility and they were looking for a seat (it was pretty full by this point) Everyone just averted their eyes so that they wouldn't get picked on to share their huge bench with them but Dan and I shouted them over and said for them to share with us as we knew we would probably be stood up most of the time.  

They did just that, took their seats and then struck up a conversation with us in gratitude. Well.... they became our bezzies for the entire boat ride and kept us entertained with many a story and also provided us with lots of advice on places to go and see.  

Vernon and Vicky they were called (we didn't catch their son, daugher and grumpy grandson's names!) and they were celebrating their 50th Wedding anniversary!

Anyway I digress... the actual boat trip was simply outstanding. We had the best time and saw such amazing beautiful creatures.  The dolphins were fabulous all chasing along after us and then staying by our side for quite a distance.. (I have a video and pics but can't seem to load anything to the blog as I don't have the right app...YET!)

and then we found the whales.. WOW.. totally WOW!  The captain was fantastic and would take us as close as he would dare - ie not so close to scare them or disturb them too much, but enough so you could get a decent view of them.  The people that run the trips are hugely into conservation and protection of the sea & its wildlife so they are quite careful about the boat they use and how they approach. 

We must have seen about 7 or 8 humpback whales in the end and then the unthinkable occurred and we spotted a Blue Whale!  So amazing..  I had never realised that they were known as Blue whales because their shadows create a bright blue 'streak' in the sea. Once we knew that it was easier to keep a track of where it was and be ready for it popping back up again. Whales come up to the surface a number of times whilst they are feeding or scouting for food (I think I have that right) and then will deep dive back down again and may be down for 15mins or so before they surface again somewhere.

Everyone was so excited about seeing a blue whale including the captain and we stayed for a while observing it before he disappeared off into the deep. At that point we turned around and started to head back (we were already late but the captain had chosen to stay longer so he could see the Blue whale).

So we turned and set off back towards the coast and lo and behold what did we spot in the distance.. a whale jumping up and out of the water over and over again!!  Fabulous... so the captain sped off towards it and we were all suspended in anticipation of whether it would still be 'performing' by the time we reached it....  and it was. Amazingly it was and it was a joy to behold and a privilege to watch this magnificent creature playing and enjoying itself in its true and natural environment and not in some godawful chlorinated pool under duress...

Our lovely new friends invited us for lunch with them as we headed back but we politely declined as we were a bit minging and needed freshen up, change and see if the suitcase had arrived! 

Sadly it hadn't when we got here but a phone call here and quick chat there brough a knock on the door and the words 'Special Delivery' from the guy that runs the hotel and there he was with my suitcase!!  Oh old friend, it's wonderful to see you! I was literally dancing around the room!  I kept pulling things out going 'OH my makeup... OH my underwear...' etc. ha, I know small things.

Prior to this we had actually stayed on our sun terrace after getting back from the boat and enjoyed some beers. Dan made another new friend - German guy that was staying here.. Footie obv being the shared interest!

After I calmed down about my case and actually got ready we headed out and stopped at a lovely Mexican restaurant for a delicious meal.

Driving Dr D....!!

So, we finally got ourselves together and went and picked up our car.  Thankfully the hire car company had a Sat Nav so we have hired that now.
Had some fun trying to get the damn thing working though and just as I was about to march back off to the car hire desk, D suggested we look for another car lighter power point thingy just in case it was the power point that wasn't working...
Found another and then the sat nav worked like a charm! Saved me a bit of embarrasment back at the hire car place!!
Slighly nervously I got the car going and headed off round and around the car park trying to get out whilst trying to remember not to use my left foot for anything and that I needed to be on the right!
We finally emerged, the sat nav found us and our route and we were off!!  woohoo

Fabulous drive to Santa Barbara, such stunning views and was pretty much hassle free. (only one wrong turn!)
D was in charge of monitoring directions and reminding me not to drift over to right of my lane all the time! Seems to be a British thing as we saw another couple doing exactly the same thing (but much worse than me of course!)
He does think that he will drive a bit of the route but isn't sure if he will actually like it or not!  We'll see.
Anyway we had some laughs on the way - mainly at my expense and my usual dizzy way of looking at things.. Such as seeing the letters 'XING' on the road and after asking D what it was (and being told that it short for 'crossing' as in School Xing) i confessed that i thought it was in homage to their Chinese community and was like a multi lingual road direction thing!  hahaha... Of course Dan then took a picture of the next one just to remind me!
Had an interesting time surrounded by about 20 bikers as well. Man they were noisy but it looked really cool to see this big line of them all winding down the roads!

Arrived with no issue at our hotel in Santa Barbara (hope I can say the same for my suitcase) which is lovely and in a slightly quieter part of town though on the doorstep of all the bars and restaurants...we're about a mile away from the beach.

Had a good wander all the way to said beach yesterday, with a few beers stops on the way of course. And then Jet Lag hit us squarely in the face and we were still near the beach and had an uphill walk to deal with!  We cracked on and via the grocery store to buy some beers, we made it back, had one more on the sun terrace and then crashed into bed!

On another note, the boy is all good and yesterday I woke up to a picture from him of all the fridge food he had very excitedly gone out and purchased for himself!  haha.. so like literally the minute my back was turned he was there filling up the fridge with crap!  Tbh i did spot some bananas and grapes in there so not all bad!!
Jesse is doing well to so that all makes me even happier...

Next stop.. Whale watching for 4.5 hours.. SO excited for that..